Safety headgear suspension



Jam 2, 1951 A. J. RUGGIERO SAFETY HEADGEAR SUSPENSION Filed Jan. 28, 1949 /Nl/E/VTOR ALFRED J, @UGG/ERO 5M y@ /'s ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE ascend! SAFETY HEADGEAR SUSPENSION gifted j." Ruggiero, San Francisco. Calif.. assigner to'lE. D'. BullardCompany, San Francisco, Calif.,` a corporation of California Application January 28, 12549, serial No. re395 2 Claims. (C-l'; 2 6) My invention relates to safety headgear, and particularly t6 suspension means for tting and supporting such a headgear on the head of a wearer. I i l It is among the objects of my invention to'provide an iin-provedarrargement of sweatband and suspension head straps by which a rigid safety headgear maybe fitted onto the head of' a wearer.

Afnotherobject is to providef suspension means for vsafety headgear having fastening means facilitating theassemmbly of the suspension in auhat crown, and which affords an effective range of initial adjustment and yielding movement in service.

A further object is to provide a safety headgear suspension embodying improved features of structure and arrangement.

The invention has other objects which will be explained in the following description of that form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this single embodiment, but may be included in a plurality of forms as set forth in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a safety headgear provided with the suspension device of my invention, parts being broken away and shown in vertical mid-section Figure 2 is a sectional View of the suspension and its mounting means, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a fragmental elevational view showing the manner in which the suspension head straps engage the sweatband and fasteners;

Figure 4 is a fragmental exploded view oi the fastener and the support interengageable therewith as mounted upon the lower inside surface of the headgear, the suspension head strap being omitted; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional detail of the support and fastener, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

In terms of broad inclusion, the headgear suspension of my invention comprises a sweatband having slits circumferentially spaced along the band for shiftable engagement by loops formed at both ends of each of a plurality of suspension straps. The mid-portions of the straps are adjustably connected within the upper portion of the crown portion of the headgear; and fasteners are suspended upon the suspension strap loops between the sweatband and the lower portion of the crown. The fastenersare shaped for wedging nterengagement with supports secured y 2 within the lower crown portion of the headgear. In terms of greater detail, the suspension device ofwmyninv'ention comprises a sweatbandV designated invgfeneral by the numeral l supported with the lower crown portion of a safety hat 2 by means of suspension head straps T3.

`The swetbarid is preferably formedffr'om a strip of ilexiblepmaterial, for example leather or fabricod, doubled lengthwise yto form' a"multi thickness bano having an inner headengaging portion fl andan outermountingportiori 5'.` The ends of the's'trip a'r'j'oined tiform a continuous band tting around the head of a wearer. Preferably, the ends of the band may be adjustably connected by suitable connecting means, as for example the arrangement disclosed in my Patent No. 2,398,561, whereby the sweatband may be readily adjusted to lit any head size. Slits B are cut in the outer or mounting portion 5 of the sweatband at intervals circumferentially spaced around the band, and in spaced parallel relation to the upper edge of the sweatband to form mounting strips l.

The suspension or head straps 3 are preferably of woven tape material. Each strap 3 is provided with a loop 8 at each end thereof, the loops being formed by doubling the extreme end portion back onto the adjacent portion of the strap body.

The ends of each strap 3 are threaded through adjacent slits 6 in the sweatband l, and through slots 9 formed in fasteners ll, before said ends are doubled back to their loop forming position. After the ends are so threaded and doubled back they are secured by rivets l2, or other suitable securing means, with the fasteners and sweatband embraced and retained within the loops 8.

The fasteners ii are provided with downwardly extending wedge shaped portions [I4 having side lianges i6 converging toward the lower end of said portions. The outer edges of the anges I6 are inturned as at Il to form sockets for engaging supports I8 secured upon the inner surface of the crown portion of the headgear, by rivets 2D.

The supports I8 are preferably metal. plates of essentially wedge shape and having side edges converging downwardly. Edge portions I9 of the support plate i8 are offset sufliciently to admit the inturned portions l 'l of the fasteners between the edge portions iii and the surface of the hat. The socket portions of the fasteners l i are com.- plementary to the supports IS and are arranged to be moved into detachable nterwedging engagement therewith. Lateral extensions 2l on the upper ends of the offset edge portions I9 limit 3 the movement of the fastener sockets on the supports I8.

The mid-portions of the suspension head strap 3, between the loops 8, extend upwardly into the upper crown portion of the headgear in the form of an inverted V, having portions converging from the slits t to a fold approximately midway between the looped ends of the straps. A tie cord 22 is threaded between the converging portions of the straps for adjustably connecting the mid-portions of the straps tc conform to the head of the wearer and support the rigid crown in spaced relation to the head of all points.

rfhe slits 9 are of a length sufficient to permit a range of relative movement between the loops 8 and the mounting strips `.i sufficient to permit the sweatband t0 conform to the shape of the Wearers head without distortion of the straps 3 or disalinement of the fasteners ii and supports E8. The fasteners lie nat betweenthe sweatband and the crown; and the sweatband, being suspended on the loops 8 along with the fasteners, provides an effective shield between the fasteners and the head of the workman.

' I claim:

1. A suspension for safetyheadgear having a rigid crown comprising a plurality of head straps each having a loop formed at each end, a fastener associated with each loop and having an eye through which the loop extends, a sweatband having slits forming portions each of which 4 Y is embraced by a loop in proximate relation to the associated fastener, and supporting means secured inside the hat for separably engaging the fasteners. l

2. A suspension for safety headgear having a rigid crown comprising a sweatband having a plurality of slits circumferentially spaced around the sweatband in spaced parallelV relation tothe upper edge of the band, a'plurality of head straps each having a loop at each end interengaging the 'band through adjacent slits, means engaging the straps between their ends for adjustably connecting the mid-portions of the straps within the upper portion of the crown, a plurality of fasteners each vhaving an eye through which a loop extends and positioned between the sweatband and the lower part of the crown, and supports upon the crown separably interengageable Vwith the fasteners.

ALFRED J. RUGGIERO.

Number Name 2,159,681 Wisman May 23, 1939 2,371,712 Scholl et al Mar. 20, 1945 2,398,551 Ruggiero Apr. 16, 1946 Myers et al. Dec. '7, 1948 

